Create your own mini universe with out-of-this-world activity! Using paint, paper, and a Ziploc bag, we will create swirling patterned planets that we will attach to an outer space background. This activity combines arts and crafts with sensory play, which makes for a stellar opportunity for school-aged children to get creative! The final art piece works as a great decoration or even the perfect gift for a friend who loves space!
Supplies:
Black piece of paper
White crayon/colored pencil
White or Color Paper
Scissors
Paint
Ziplock Bag
Tape or Glue
Before we begin, make sure you have your supplies ready! These include a black piece of paper, some white or color pieces of paper, a white crayon/colored pencil, scissors, paint of any colors, a ziplock bag, and tape/glue!
Step 1: Now we are ready to begin the craft! First, we are going to create our space background. To do this, we are going to draw stars with our white crayon/colored pencil onto our black piece of paper. Stars in space have different shapes and sizes- so you can make the stars any shape or size you’d like! I used different sized dots and star shapes for my outer space background! When you are done, you can set this background to the side for now.
Step 2: Now that our outer space background is complete, we are now going to create our planets! To do this, we will trace different sized circular objects onto our white piece of paper! You could trace a cup, a jar, a lid, or anything circle shaped you can find around the house! I personally traced a few different sized candles. I want to have 6 planets on my background, so I traced 6 different sized circles- but you can trace as many planets as you want!
Step 3: After our circles have been traced, we can now cut them out! Make sure you have an adult help you with this step if you want or need help with using scissors!
Step 4: Now that our planets have been cut out, it is time to decorate them! For this step, you will need paint and a ziploc bag! First, take one of your circles and squeeze some paint onto different parts of the planet! You can decorate these planets with paint in any type of design you may want. You could use just one color or a bunch of colors! Don’t spread the paint around just yet though!
Step 5: Once you have squeezed all of the paint you want onto your planets, gently place one planet at a time into a ziploc bag and seal the bag shut by pressing your fingers tightly on the top edge of the bag and pulling them across the whole lock. Once your planet is zipped into the bag, we are going to continue painting it in the bag. You can do this however you want- I tried pressing, smearing, and shaking the bag! This is a fun way to paint and try new painting styles without getting messy! Repeat this step for all of the planets you cut out! If you want some of your planets to be the same colors, you can also try putting more than one planet in the bag at a time! Or, if you want each planet to be a different color scheme, try this step with multiple ziploc bags and paint colors!
Step 6: Carefully take out each of your planets from the ziploc bags. Set them in a spot and let them dry before starting the next step!
Step 7: Once your planets have dried, we can add them onto our space background we created earlier using tape or glue. Place your planets wherever you want on the paper!
Our outer space craft is now complete! If you wanted, you could also add astronauts, aliens, or rocket ships to your planets by cutting out and taping drawings of those things on to the paper as well!
~Made by Maddie W.